CN115866719A - Unified access control for cellular networks - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure discusses a User Equipment (UE) configured to: determining that a first access attempt to access a first network service is associated with a first access class, wherein the first access class is associated with a first Uniform Access Control (UAC) rule, wherein the first UAC rule has a first priority; and determining that a second access attempt to access a second network service is associated with a second access class, wherein the second access class is associated with a second UAC rule, wherein the second UAC rule has a second priority.

Description

Unified access control for cellular networks

Background

The 5G New Radio (NR) network allows the network operator to define access barring rules. In particular, third generation partnership (3 GPP) TS 24.501 defines Operator Defined Access Control (ODAC), including priorities for determining various services in the NR of an access category. According to this standard, the network provides the User Equipment (UE) with ODAC information in a "REGISTRATION ACCEPT" (REGISTRATION ACCEPT) or "CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND" (CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND) message.

ODAC is defined in NR so that the network can specify rules for access barring for a particular PDU session, fragmentation, OS App ID, quality of service (QoS), etc. This flexibility allows the network to control access attempts for any particular fragmentation and/or PDU session that is not present in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. This flexibility will allow the network to control traffic in an efficient way, since various services and use cases are still being explored in the NR.

However, with the introduction of ODAC, when ODAC barring is applicable, the impact on other services, such as multimedia telephony (MMTEL) voice and/or video calls or IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) registration, needs to be considered. This disclosure discusses some exemplary scenarios that will cause a UE to disable MMTEL voice, MMTEL video, IMS registration, etc. when the UE has been access-barred by the ODAC (e.g., for a particular PDU session or a particular slice).

Disclosure of Invention

Some example embodiments relate to a processor of a User Equipment (UE) configured to perform operations. These operations include: determining that a first access attempt to access a first network service is associated with a first access class, wherein the first access class is associated with a first Uniform Access Control (UAC) rule, wherein the first UAC rule has a first priority; and determining that a second access attempt to access a second network service is associated with a second access class, wherein the second access class is associated with a second UAC rule, wherein the second UAC rule has a second priority.

Other example embodiments relate to a processor of a User Equipment (UE) configured to perform operations. These operations include: performing an ongoing service with a first network comprising a first Radio Access Technology (RAT); determining that a Radio Link Failure (RLF) has occurred for a first RAT; and determining that the second RAT is available to continue the ongoing service.

Still further exemplary embodiments relate to a processor of a User Equipment (UE) configured to perform operations. These operations include: determining that a first access attempt to access a first network service is associated with a first access category; determining that a second access attempt to access a second network service is associated with a second access category; and selecting one of the first access category or the second access category for the first access attempt and the second access attempt based at least on predefined rules.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary network arrangement according to various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary User Equipment (UE) in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 3 shows a mapping table for access classes in 5G NR provided as table 4.5.2.2 in 3gpp TS 24.501.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary method for selecting an access category for multiple access attempts according to various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 5 shows an exemplary signaling diagram related to service restoration over a 5G NR-RAN during MMTEL voice/video or IMS registration from the LTE-RAN.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example method for service recovery from a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) to a second RAT for an ongoing service, according to various example embodiments.

Detailed Description

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. Example embodiments relate to access control for a UE to access various network services when some of the network services are barred by network operator access.

The exemplary embodiments are described with reference to a fifth generation (5G) network supporting access barring. However, it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are applicable to any network that supports access barring in the manner described herein for 5G networks.

Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to exemplary network services such as MMTEL voice, MMTEL video, MMTEL Short Message Service (SMS), IMS registration, emergency calls, etc. However, it should be understood that these services are merely exemplary, and that these exemplary embodiments may be applied to other network services. Further, while these services are referred to as network services, it should be understood that some or all of these services may be provided by third parties, and that network operators are providing access to the third party services.

Furthermore, throughout this specification, it will be described that the UE may be performing access checks for Packet Data Unit (PDU) sessions on a Packet Data Network (PDN) or for network fragmentation. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the network and UE may configure one or more PDU sessions to enable the UE to access network services via the PDN. The UE may also access network services via network fragmentation, which refers to an end-to-end logical network configured to provide specific services and/or have specific network characteristics. Accordingly, it should be understood that the terms "PDU session" and "fragmentation" may be used interchangeably depending on the manner in which the UE accesses a particular network service. Other ways of accessing network services may also exist, and it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are equally applicable to other ways of accessing network services.

Furthermore, throughout this specification, exemplary embodiments are described with respect to Operator Defined Access Control (ODAC) rules. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other types of access rules may exist. These rules may be referred to as Unified Access Control (UAC) rules. The ODAC rules may be considered a subset of UAC rules. It should be understood that the use of ODAC rules is exemplary only, as any of the UAC rules may be used with the exemplary embodiments.

Some example embodiments relate to a UE attempting multiple simultaneous access attempts for different network services. Some of these network services may be barred, which may result in all access attempts being barred, even if they should not be barred. The exemplary embodiments provide various ways to avoid barring non-barred network services when there are multiple access attempts.

Other exemplary embodiments relate to the following: network services are provided via a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAT, and fail, causing the UE to attempt to continue the service on a different RAT, e.g., a 5G RAT. Continuing the service on a different RAT may be access barred, resulting in a poor user experience. The exemplary embodiments provide various ways to continue the service on the second RAT.

Still further exemplary embodiments relate to a case where a UE encounters a dual barring scenario. The illustrative embodiments provide various rules for handling double-forbidden scenarios.

Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary network arrangement 100 according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement 100 includes a UE 110. It should be noted that any number of UEs may be used in the network arrangement 100. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the UE110 may be any type of electronic component configured to communicate via a network, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a desktop computer, a smartphone, a tablet, an embedded device, a wearable device, an internet of things (IoT) device, and so forth. It should also be understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs used by any number of users. Thus, for purposes of illustration, only an example with a single UE110 is provided.

UE110 may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of network arrangement 100, the networks with which UE110 may wirelessly communicate are a 5G new air interface (NR) radio access network (5G NR-RAN) 120, an LTE radio access network (LTE-RAN) 122, and a Wireless Local Access Network (WLAN) 124. However, it should be understood that UE110 may also communicate with other types of networks, and that UE110 may also communicate with a network over a wired connection. Thus, the UE110 may include a 5G NR chipset in communication with the 5G NR-RAN 120, an LTE chipset in communication with the LTE-RAN 122, and an ISM chipset in communication with the WLAN 124.

The 5G NR-RAN 120 and LTE-RAN 122 may be part of a cellular network that may be deployed by cellular providers (e.g., verizon, AT & T, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks 120, 122 may include, for example, cells or base stations (NodeB, eNodeB, heNB, eNBS, gNB, gdnodeb, macrocell, microcell, femtocell, etc.) configured to send and receive traffic from UEs equipped with an appropriate cellular chipset. The WLAN 124 may include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, hotspot, IEEE 802.11x network, etc.).

UE110 may connect to 5G NR-RAN 120 via a gNB 120A to receive network services from 5G NR-RAN 120. The gNB 120A may be configured with the necessary hardware (e.g., antenna arrays), software, and/or firmware to perform massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) functions. Massive MIMO may refer to a base station configured to generate multiple beams for multiple UEs. During operation, UE110 may be within range of multiple gnbs. The indexing of one gNB 120A is for illustrative purposes only. Exemplary embodiments may be applied to any suitable number of gnbs. In addition, the UE110 may also connect and communicate with the eNB 122A of the LTE-RAN 122 to receive network services from the LTE-RAN 122.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any relevant procedures for connecting UE110 to 5G NR-RAN 120 and/or LTE-RAN 122 may be performed. For example, as discussed above, the 5G NR-RAN 120 and/or LTE-RAN 122 may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UE110 and/or its user has contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the 5G NR-RAN 120 and/or LTE-RAN 122, the UE110 may transmit corresponding credential information to associate with the 5G NR-RAN 120 and/or LTE-RAN 122. More specifically, the UE110 may be associated with a particular base station (e.g., the gNB 120A of the 5G NR-RAN 120 or the eNB 122A of the LTE-RAN 122).

In addition to networks 120, 122 and 124, network arrangement 100 comprises a cellular core network 130, the internet 140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 150 and a network services backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 may be viewed as an interconnected set of components that manage the operation and traffic of the cellular network.

The cellular core network 130 also manages traffic flowing between the cellular network and the internet 140. IMS 150 may generally be described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to UE110 using an IP protocol. IMS 150 may communicate with cellular core network 130 and internet 140 to provide multimedia services to UE 110. The network services backbone 160 communicates directly or indirectly with the internet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network services backbone 160 may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionality of the UE110 for communicating with various networks.

Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary UE110 according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE110 will be described with reference to the network arrangement 100 of fig. 1. UE110 may represent any electronic device and may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, a display device 215, an input/output (I/O) device 220, a transceiver 225, and other components 230. Other components 230 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery providing a limited power source, a data collection device, a port for electrically connecting UE110 to other electronic devices, one or more antenna panels, and so forth. For example, the UE110 may be coupled to the industrial device via one or more ports.

The processor 205 may be configured to execute multiple engines of the UE 110. For example, the engine may include a Unified Access Control (UAC) engine 235. The UAC engine 235 may perform various operations related to accessing network services via one or more available cellular networks (e.g., the 5G NR-RAN 120, the LTE-RAN 122, etc.). Exemplary operations performed by the UAC engine 235 will be described in more detail below.

The above-described engine is merely exemplary as an application (e.g., program) executed by the processor 205. The functionality associated with the engine may also be represented as a separate, integrated component of the UE110, or may be a modular component coupled to the UE110, such as an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, an integrated circuit may include input circuitry for receiving signals and processing circuitry for processing the signals and other information. The engine may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. Further, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor 205 is shared between two or more processors, such as a baseband processor and an application processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of UEs.

The memory arrangement 210 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 110. Display device 215 may be a hardware component configured to display data to a user, while I/O device 220 may be a hardware component that enables a user to make inputs. The display device 215 and the I/O device 220 may be separate components or may be integrated together (such as a touch screen). The transceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN 120, LTE-RAN 122, WLAN 124, or the like. Thus, the transceiver 225 may operate on a plurality of different frequencies or channels (e.g., a contiguous set of frequencies).

Fig. 3 shows a mapping table 300 for access classes in 5G NR provided as table 4.5.2.2 in 3gpp TS 24.501. As shown in the mapping table 300, the first column includes the access barring rule number, the second column includes the type of access attempt, the third column includes the access requirement, and the fourth column includes the access category. It should be understood that the mapping table 300 of fig. 3 is used as an example only, and the exemplary embodiments are not limited to the particular rule numbers, access types and categories, etc. shown in fig. 1.

The problem of access barring may arise because of the current standard requirements (i.e. if an access attempt matches more than one rule, the access class with the smallest rule number should be selected). This means that the UE will select the ODAC access class with the smallest rule number in the PDU session with pending data. If the access class associated with the minimum rule number is barred, all pending PDU sessions will be barred, which means that services that should not be barred will not be able to transmit pending data.

The following provides an exemplary scenario for access barring issues with MMTEL voice barring when ODAC access barring is applicable to PDU sessions. It may be assumed that UE110 has received the ODAC rule from 5G NR-RAN 120, DNN: "Internet" (DNN denotes data network name), and IMS is activated and IMS registration is successful. The ODAC rule may be defined for a particular DNN (e.g., DNN: "Internet") having an access category AC 33 (e.g., AC 33 is access barred). UE110 may have pending uplink data for DNN, "Internet", and 5G mobility management (5 GMM) maps the access attempt to AC 33. Based on the ODAC rule, UE110 may determine that AC 33 is access barred and that pending data is not transmitted due to access barred. However, the 3GPP standards also specify that pending data for a PDU session that fails the access check remains pending. Thus, the pending data in the PDU session for DNN: "Internet" remains pending after UE110 determines that AC 33 is access barred.

To continue the example scenario, the access categories associated with DNN: "IMS" include AC:4 for Mobile-Caller (MO) MMTEL voice, AC:5 for MO MMTEL video, AC:6 for MO MMTEL Short Message Service (SMS) and SMS over Internet protocol (SMSoIP), and AC:9 for IMS registration. These access categories can be seen in the mapping table 300 of fig. 3. In this example, these access categories may also be considered as not being access barred.

Continuing with the exemplary scenario, the user may initiate an MMTEL voice call, but remembers that UE110 still has pending UL data for DNN "Internet". Thus, in this scenario, there is pending data for multiple PDU sessions. As described above, when this scenario occurs, UE110 will select an access category with a smaller rule number. As can be seen from the mapping table 300 of FIG. 3, AC 33 (DNN: "Internet") is associated with rule #3, and AC 4 (MO MMTEL Voice) is associated with rule # 5. Therefore, the UE110 will select AC 33 because it has a smaller rule number. Select AC 33 to use for both DNN, "Internet" and MO MMTEL voice attempts. However, since AC:33 is access barred in this scenario, UE110 will not be able to attempt an MMTEL voice call on 5G-NR RAN 120, and processing may continue on the 5G-NR RAN as per the rules. This would result in the user not being able to initiate a voice call on the 5G-NR RAN even though the access barring for MMTEL voice is not applicable.

A second exemplary scenario illustrating this problem may occur in the case where MO signaling is access barred when ODAC access barred is applicable to PDU sessions. For example, UE110 may have received the ODAC rule from the network, DNN: "Internet", IMS was activated and IMS registration was successful. ODAC rules are defined for a particular DNN (e.g., DNN: "Internet") with access category AC 33. The UE110 has updated its configuration resulting in triggering mobility registration (e.g., discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) change, PDU session being locally deactivated, etc.). Similar to the example above, UE110 may have uplink pending data for DNN, "Internet", and the 5GMM maps the access attempt to AC 33. However, similar to the example above, the UE110 determines that AC 33 is access barred and that the pending mobility registration message is not transmitted but remains pending.

UE110 then initiates a mobility registration (AC: 3 (MO _ signaling) is not access barred), but UE110 still has pending UL data for DNN: "Internet". Since AC:33 is associated with a lower ODAC rule than AC:3, UE110 will select AC:33 and cannot register with mobility because AC:33 is access barred. This may lead to a problem that the UE110 cannot update its configuration using mobility registration. This may result in UE110 losing a network page if UE110 cannot perform registration for a time that exceeds the mobile network reachability duration.

The above paragraphs show an exemplary scenario where services that should not be access barred are actually access barred due to the selection of the access class with the smallest ODAC rule number. Based on the above examples, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many scenarios in which this problem may arise. The root cause of such problems is that by prioritizing the ODAC rules, UE110 will eventually not be access barred by important services of the access barred. This may result in a poor user experience and also reduces the flexibility the network has in allocating access category rules for DNN, fragmentation, qoS rules, etc.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary method 400 for selecting an access category for multiple access attempts according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary method 400 solves the problems associated with access category selection described above in the exemplary scenario. In particular, the method 400 implements a further rule that if an access attempt matches more than one rule, the access category of the smallest rule number not to be access barred should be selected. The rule will be explained with reference to method 400.

In 410, UE110 determines whether there are multiple PDN access attempts. That is, if there is only a single access attempt, the rules of method 400 do not apply. It should also be appreciated that although the method 400 is described with respect to PDU access attempts, the method 400 is also applicable to other types of access attempts, such as fragmentation and the like.

In 420, UE110 determines whether multiple access attempts involve more than one ODAC rule. That is, there may be multiple access attempts, but these attempts may all be associated with the same ODAC rule. Also, if these multiple access attempts do not involve multiple ODAC rules, the rules of method 400 do not apply.

In 430, UE110 will select the access category associated with the smallest ODAC rule number that is not access barred. By applying this rule to the first exemplary scenario described above, UE110 will not select AC:33, but will select AC:4 related to MO MMTEL voice. That is, even if AC 33 is associated with a smaller ODAC rule number for which the access category is barred, UE110 will move to the access category associated with the second small rule number for which access is not barred. Therefore, the UE110 will select AC:4 because the access category is not barred. It should be understood that this exemplary scenario describes a scenario with two (2) access attempts, but the rules of method 400 may be extended to any number of access attempts.

As can be seen from the above, the rules of method 400 eliminate the root cause of the problems of the above scenarios, such as prioritization of the ODAC rules. By selecting an access category that is not barred, UE110 avoids service being access barred because an access barred category is selected.

In other exemplary embodiments, if the 5G NR-RAN 120 network provides an ODAC access category for fragmentation/PDU sessions, the 5G NR-RAN 120 will provide an ODAC access category rule for all active fragmentation/PDU sessions for the UE 110. These ODAC access category rules may be provided in a "REGISTRATION ACCEPT" (REGISTRATION ACCEPT) or "CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND" (CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND) message.

To provide an example with respect to the above exemplary scenario, the 5G NR-RAN 120 will provide access rules for both DNN: "IMS" and DNN: "Internet". This can be expressed in the 3GPP specifications as follows: the network should provide the ODAC rule mandatorily for all active PDU sessions or fragments in the UE, for MO _ signaling or other access categories. Further, an ODAC rule option may be introduced, where the 5G NR-RAN 120 may provide an ODAC access category for MO _ Signaling and MO _ data, so that the UE110 may relatively decide the priority of various services in the ODAC rule for DNN, fragmentation or Signaling.

It should be appreciated that by providing UE110 with ODAC rules for active PDU sessions, UE110 will know which access categories are barred and may select an access category for the service that is not barred, does not conflict with the barred access categories. Thus, these exemplary embodiments will also address issues related to prioritization of ODAC rules.

In addition to the above scenarios, there may be the following scenarios: due to Radio Link Failure (RLF) on a first Radio Access Technology (RAT), a voice call needs to be handed over from the first RAT to a second RAT (e.g., from LTE-RAN 122 to 5G NR-RAN 120), and the access check at this time causes a poor user experience. For example, based on current 3GPP specifications, when RLF is encountered during a voice call over LTE-RAN 122 and UE110 resumes service on a suitable NR cell of the same Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), UE110 will perform an access check on the MMTEL voice call over 5G NR-RAN 120. The problem is that if the access check fails, the UE110 will stop the voice call, resulting in a poor user experience. Furthermore, even if the access check does not fail, the access check will delay the MMTEL voice call setup, which can also result in a poor user experience.

Fig. 5 shows an exemplary signaling diagram 500 relating to service restoration on the 5G NR-RAN 120 during MMTEL voice/video or IMS registration from the LTE-RAN 122. In 510, UE110 has an active voice call on LTE-RAN 122. At 520, UE110 encounters an RLF condition (e.g., the user moves to a new location where 5G coverage exists but LTE coverage does not exist) and the voice call on LTE-RAN 122 stops. However, the UE110 detects the cell of the 5G NR-RAN 120 and camps on the cell. The cell of the 5G NR-RAN 120 may be considered to support NR based voice (VoNR) services. In 530, UE110 will perform an access check for initiating a registration request through the NR, even if MMTEL voice is ongoing. An Application Processor (AP) of UE110 will request an access check for MMTEL voice to determine if the MMTEL voice call can continue on the 5G NR-RAN 120. In 540, if the access check is successful, the UE110 will continue the MMTEL voice call on the 5G NR-RAN 120. However, if the access check is not successful, the UE110 will stop the active MMTEL voice call, resulting in a poor user experience.

It should be understood that while the scenario shown in signaling diagram 500 is described with respect to an MMTEL voice call, the scenario may also apply to an MMTEL video call, an SMS session, or an IMS registration, as shown in the signaling diagram. Furthermore, the scenario may be reversed. For example, the UE110 may have an active MMTEL voice/video/SMS session on the 5G NR-RAN 120 and experience RLF, and the UE110 may find a suitable LTE-RAN 122 cell. Furthermore, the scenario of fig. 5 may also be applied to emergency call handling, where access checking results in emergency call stopping if the emergency access check fails. It should therefore be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments provided below to address these issues involving access checking are applicable to any of the scenarios described or any further scenarios having similar issues to those described above.

In some example embodiments, the UE110 may skip access checking for the access category when service resumption from the first RAT to the second RAT (e.g., from the LTE-RAN 122 to the 5G NR-RAN 120) occurs due to RLF occurring on the first RAT for the ongoing service (e.g., MMTEL voice call). This can be expressed in the 3GPP specifications as follows: for the purpose of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling connection restoration during ongoing service or for the purpose of NAS signaling connection establishment following a service restoration indication from lower layers during ongoing service, an access is mapped to the access category of the ongoing service to derive an RRC establishment cause, but an attempt will be made to skip the barring check for this access. The same provisions may apply to IMS registration procedures.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example method 600 for service recovery from a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) to a second RAT for an ongoing service, according to various example embodiments. In the following description, the first RAT will be described as LTE-RAN 122, the second RAT as 5G NR-RAN 120, and the ongoing service as MMTEL voice call. However, as noted above, the RAT may be switched (e.g., service restoration may switch from LTE to 5G), and the ongoing service may include any number of services including, but not limited to, video calls, SMS, IMS registration, emergency calls, and the like.

In 610, the UE110 may be considered to have an active MMTEL voice call using the LTE-RAN 122. In 620, UE110 determines whether an RLFG has occurred on a cell of LTE-RAN 122. If no RLF occurs, the voice call continues over LTE-RAN 122. If RLF has occurred, UE110 determines whether a suitable cell of the 5G NR-RAN 120 is available to continue the voice call in 630. It should be noted that the RLF on the LTE-RAN 122 may be considered to indicate that the LTE-RAN 122 does not have other cells available to continue the voice call. As described above, a suitable cell of the 5G NR-RAN 120 may be considered as a cell supporting the VoNR service.

If there are no suitable available cells on the 5G NR-RAN 120, the method 600 ends and the voice call stops. On the other hand, if there are suitable available cells on the 5G NR-RAN 120, then in 640 the UE110 may perform an RRC connection establishment procedure (or any other suitable procedure to connect to the 5G NR-RAN 120 cell) but skip access checking for active voice calls.

Thus, by skipping the access check for the ongoing service in method 600, UE110 will avoid the problems described above with respect to the service recovery procedure. In particular, if a suitable service recovery cell is available on another RAT because access is barred, the ongoing service (e.g., voice call) will not be stopped. Furthermore, skipping access checking may also allow the service restoration connection to occur in a faster manner, which will also improve the user experience.

In other example embodiments, when the UE110 falls back to the 5G NR-RAN 120 to resume an ongoing service (e.g., MMTEL voice/video/SMS, IMS registration, etc.), the UE110 may consider the access category of the ongoing service as mobile terminated access (MT _ access). Referring to table 300, it can be seen that MT _ access is associated with AC:0 and UAC rule 1 applies to continuing access attempts on the 5G NR-RAN 120.

In further exemplary embodiments, when the UE110 is performing RLF recovery on the LTE-RAN 122 with an ongoing MMTEL voice/video session, the lower layer may change the RRC establishment cause from "MO signaling" to "MO voice call" when the MMTEL voice session is active and the UE110 camps on the appropriate LTE cell on RLF recovery.

In some scenarios, UE110 may encounter dual barring. For example, in a first scenario, UE110 may have an ongoing SMS based on NAS (AC: 6) transactions in parallel with MO IMS registration signaling (AC: 9). A service request or mobility registration procedure may be initiated in 5GMM-IDLE mode for the purpose of NAS signaling connection recovery or per service recovery indication from the lower layer. UE110 is expected to map the access class to 9 (IMS REG).

In a second dual-barring scenario, the SMSoIP (AC: 6) transaction proceeds in parallel with the MO IMS registration signaling (AC: 9). A service request or mobility registration procedure is initiated in 5GMM-IDLE mode for NAS signaling connection recovery purposes or per service recovery indication from the lower layer. UE110 is expected to map the access category to 6 (SMS).

These desires are based on the rules and access categories described above with respect to table 300. Referring to table 300, MO IMS registration signaling is mapped to rule #4.1 and NAS-based MO SMS (and MO SMSoIP) is mapped to rule #7. This means that IMS registration signalling has a higher priority than NAS based SMSoIP and SMS, since as mentioned above, if an access attempt matches more than one rule, the access category of the smallest rule number should be selected.

The exemplary embodiment proposes a change such that the dual barring scenario is handled according to the priorities defined in table 300, such that the UE prioritizes NAS-based SMS (user triggered service) over IMS REG signaling.

In a first rule, when NAS based SMS is ongoing, no SMSoIP is ongoing, no MMTEL video call is ongoing, and no MMTEL video call is ongoing, any service request procedure or registration procedure initiated in 5GMM-IDLE mode or 5GMM-IDLE mode with a suspend indication for the purpose of NAS signaling connection restoration or per service restoration indication from the lower layer is mapped to access category 6.

In a second rule, when MO IMS registration related signaling is ongoing, no NAS based SMS is ongoing, no SMSoIP is ongoing, no MMTEL video call is ongoing, and no MMTEL video call is ongoing, if the upper layer has indicated a DNN for SMSoIP and the indicated DNN for SMSoIP is different from "IMS", any service request procedure related to PDU sessions established for DNN = "IMS" and for DNN for SMSoIP is mapped to access class 9. Continuing with the second rule, if the upper layer has indicated a DNN for SMSoIP and the indicated DNN for SMSoIP is different from "IMS", any uplink user data packets sent for the PDU session established for DNN = "IMS" and for DNN for SMSoIP with suspended user plane resources are mapped to access class 9. Continuing further with the second rule, any service request procedure or registration procedure initiated in 5GMM-IDLE mode for the purpose of NAS signaling connection restoration or per service restoration indication from the lower layer is mapped to access class 9.

Examples

In a first embodiment, a User Equipment (UE) comprises: a transceiver configured to communicate with a network, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations comprising: determining that a first access attempt to access a first network service is associated with a first access class, wherein the first access class is associated with a first Uniform Access Control (UAC) rule, wherein the first UAC rule has a first priority; and determining that a second access attempt to access a second network service is associated with a second access class, wherein the second access class is associated with a second UAC rule, wherein the second UAC rule has a second priority.

In a second embodiment, a User Equipment (UE) comprises: a transceiver configured to communicate with a network, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations comprising: performing an ongoing service with a first network comprising a first Radio Access Technology (RAT); determining that a Radio Link Failure (RLF) has occurred for a first RAT; and determining that the second RAT is available to continue the ongoing service.

In a third embodiment, a User Equipment (UE) comprises: a transceiver configured to communicate with a network, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations comprising: determining that a first access attempt to access a first network service is associated with a first access category; determining that a second access attempt to access a second network service is associated with a second access category; and selecting one of the first access category or the second access category for the first access attempt and the second access attempt based at least on predefined rules.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary embodiments described above may be implemented in any suitable software configuration or hardware configuration, or combination thereof. Exemplary hardware platforms for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x 86-based platform with a compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and a MAC OS, a mobile device with an operating system such as iOS, android, and the like. The exemplary embodiments of the method described above may be embodied as a program comprising lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, which when compiled, is executable on a processor or microprocessor.

While this patent application describes various combinations of various embodiments, each having different features, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any feature of one embodiment may be combined in any non-disclosed or negative way with features of other embodiments or features that are not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation or function of the apparatus of the disclosed embodiments of the invention.

It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be explicitly stated to the user.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover the modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (21)

1. A processor of a user equipment, UE, the processor configured to perform operations comprising:

determining that a first access attempt to access a first network service is associated with a first access class, wherein the first access class is associated with a first Uniform Access Control (UAC) rule, wherein the first UAC rule has a first priority; and

determining that a second access attempt to access a second network service is associated with a second access class, wherein the second access class is associated with a second UAC rule, wherein the second UAC rule has a second priority.

2. The processor of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting one of the first access category or the second access category for the first access attempt and the second access attempt based at least on the first UAC rule and the second UAC rule and the first priority of the first UAC rule and the second priority of the second UAC rule.

3. The processor of claim 2, wherein the selection is based on selecting the one of the first access category or the second access category that has a higher priority and is not barred by the corresponding UAC rule access.

4. The processor of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that a third access attempt to access a third network service is associated with a third access class, wherein the third access class is associated with a third UAC rule, wherein the third UAC rule has a third priority,

wherein the selecting is based on selecting the one of the first access category, the second access category, or the third access category that has a higher priority and is not barred by the corresponding UAC rule access.

5. The processor of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving the first UAC rule and the second UAC rule from a network based on the UE having one of an active PDU session or an active network slice related to the first network service and the second network service.

6. The processor of claim 5, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting one of the first access category or the second access category for the first access attempt and the second access attempt based at least on the first UAC rule and the second UAC rule.

7. The processor of claim 1, wherein the first network service and the second network service are associated with one of an active Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session or an active network slice.

8. The processor of claim 1, wherein the UAC rules comprise operator-defined access control, ODAC, rules.

9. A processor of a User Equipment (UE), the processor configured to perform operations comprising:

performing an ongoing service with a first network comprising a first radio access technology, RAT;

determining that a radio link failure, RLF, has occurred for the first RAT; and

determining that a second RAT is available for continuing the ongoing service.

10. The processor of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

connecting to the second RAT, wherein the connecting to the second RAT excludes access checking for the ongoing service.

11. The processor of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting an access category associated with a highest priority Unified Access Control (UAC) rule for the ongoing service on the second RAT; and

attempting to access the second RAT for the ongoing service based on the access category associated with the highest priority UAC rule.

12. The processor of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

the lower layer of the UE changes an access category of an access attempt for the ongoing service on the second RAT from a first access category to a second access category, wherein the second access category has a higher priority than the first access category.

13. The processor of claim 12, wherein the first access category is mobile station originating MO signaling and the second access category is a MO voice call.

14. The processor of claim 9, wherein the first RAT comprises a long term evolution, LTE, RAT and the second RAT comprises a fifth generation, 5G, RAT.

15. The processor of claim 9, wherein the first RAT comprises a fifth generation 5G RAT and the second RAT comprises a long term evolution, LTE, RAT.

16. The processor of claim 9, wherein the ongoing service comprises one of multimedia telephony, MMTEL, voice service, MMTEL, video service, MMTEL, short message service, SMS, IP multimedia subsystem, IMS, registration, or emergency call service.

17. A processor of a user equipment, UE, the processor configured to perform operations comprising:

determining that a first access attempt to access a first network service is associated with a first access category;

determining that a second access attempt to access a second network service is associated with a second access category; and

selecting one of the first access category or the second access category for the first access attempt and the second access attempt based at least on a predefined rule.

18. The processor of claim 17, wherein the first network service is a non-access stratum (NAS) based Short Message Service (SMS) and the second network service is one of a service request procedure or a registration procedure,

wherein the first access attempt and the second access attempt are initiated in a 5G mobility management IDLE 5GMM-IDLE mode or a 5GMM-IDLE mode with a suspend indication for the purpose of NAS signaling connection restoration or per a service resume indication from a lower layer of the UE,

wherein the predefined rule comprises that access category 6 is selected for the first access attempt and the second access attempt.

19. The processor of claim 17, wherein the first network service is mobile station Caller MO IMS registration-related signaling and the second network service is a service request procedure related to a second data network name, DNN, for an Internet protocol-based short message service, SMSoIP, and for the second DNN for the SMSoIP, if an upper layer of the UE has indicated that the DNN is different from the first DNN,

wherein the predefined rule comprises that the access category 9 is selected for the first access attempt and the second access attempt.

20. The processor of claim 17, wherein the first network service is mobile station caller MO IMS registration-related signaling and if an upper layer of the UE has indicated that a second data network name, DNN, for an internet protocol based short message service, SMSoIP, is different from a first DNN, the second network service is an uplink user data packet related to the DNN of IMS with suspended user plane resources and sent for a PDU session of the second DNN for the SMSoIP

Wherein the predefined rule comprises that the access category 9 is selected for the first access attempt and the second access attempt.

21. The processor of claim 17, wherein the first network service is mobile station originating MO IMS registration related signaling and the second network service is one of a service request procedure or a registration procedure,

wherein the first access attempt and the second access attempt are initiated in a 5G mobility management Idle 5GMM-IDLE mode for non-access stratum NAS signaling connection recovery purposes or per a service recovery indication from a lower layer of the UE,

wherein the predefined rule comprises that the access category 9 is selected for the first access attempt and the second access attempt.

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